Railway car plug door mounting



Feb. 20, 1968 A. w. CEYER ETAL 3,369,322

7 RAILWAY CAR PLUG DOOR MOUNTING Filed Jan. 6, 1965 FlG.2

m/r/W/ WW 1 //77/7 /7/ ////777 m ne/w'afls v ,4/fo 75 170651 By Leon/dd; dams United States Patent 3,369,322 RAILWAY CAR PLUG DOOR MOUNTING Alfons W. Ceyer, Berwyn, and Leonidas Jaras, Chicago, 11]., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Evans Products Company, Plymouth, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 6, 1965, Ser. No. 423,696 2 Claims. (Cl. 49-219) The invention relates to plug or fiush sliding doors such as move along a track and are also movable transversely of the track into and out of an opening in a Wall so as to close the same-and be flush with the wall. Such doors are used commonly, but not exclusively, in railway house cars and may be supported by upright shafts journaled on the door, there being a horizontal crank at the lower end of each shaft. The swinging end of the crank, spaced outwardly from the shaft, has a vertical axis pivot on a carriage housing mounted on rollers or wheels traveling on a track extending lengthwise of the wall alongside of the door opening and beyond the same. When the crank is swung upon its pivot the adjacent portion of the door shifts transversely of the carriage and track, usually into or out of the opening and then moves along the track relative to the opening.

One of the problems encountered in the construction of railway cars is to increase the width, and hence the cubic capacity of the car while keeping all car parts within clearance lines established by the railroad tunnels, platforms, etc., or by the Association of American Rai1- roads (A.A.R.). Among the objects of the present invention is to make possible the raising of the track, relative to the rail, which accommodates moving the track away from the longitudinal center line of the car toward an upwardly and outwardly inclined clearance line which limits the lateral extension of car parts, These objects are attained by lengthening the carriage housing and pro portioning the length of the crank arm on the door-supporting shaft to the length of the carriage housing so that the crank arm may be below the level of the tops of the wheels or rollers which mount the carriage.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating a selected embodiment of the invention:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a portion of the side of a railway house car equipped with the usual sliding door and with an auxiliary plug door of the type referred to above.

FIG. 2 is a similar elevation of a detail of the door mounting shaft, crank arm, housing, rollers and track shown in FIG. 1, but drawn to an enlarged scale.

FIG. 3 is a vertical transverse section approximately on line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and indicating an established clearance line which limits the projection of adjacent car parts.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section on line 44 of FIG. 2.

The car body includes a side sill 1, a side wall 2 which has an elongated opening which is closed by an ordinary sliding side door 3 movable along the track but having no movement transversely of the track, and by an auxiliary flush door t movable along the track and also movable transversely of the track into and out of the door opening when abreast of the latter. Side sill 1 is reinforced beneath the door opening by a channel 6 to which brackets 7 are attached for carrying an elongated angle iron track 8. A pair of horizontally elongated carriages 10 are carried on wheels 11 near the ends of the auxiliary door. The carriages are of inverted U section and the end portions 12 of each carriage form chambers housing the wheels and including top webs 12 rising substantially above the level of the carriage intermediate top wall 13 which extends between the Wheel chambers.

Extending horizontally over this intermediate top Wall '13 is a substantially straight crank 15 having a vertically depending trunnion 16 at one end journaled in Wall 13 near one end of the latter. The other end of the crank forms an upwardly open socket bearing 17 receiving the lower end of a rotatable upright shaft 19 journaled in brackets 21 on auxiliary door 4 and supporting the latter through bearing washer 23 preferably positioned vertically on the shaft by an adjusting nut 24 and a locking nut 25.

Approximately half of the over-all vertical height of crank 15 is substantially below the uppermost level of top webs 12 of the wheel chambers at the ends of the carriage. In the usual wheel housing and crank shaft of this general type the wheels are relatively close coupled and the pivoted end of the crank is offset below the upper level of the top of the carriage. The shaft supporting end of the crank is offset upwardly to swing over the elevated end of the carriage. Such arrangement requires the carriage and wheels and track to be substantially lower relative to the fioor than shown in FIG. 3, and the track, carriage and shaft must be farther inboard than in the present construction in order to avoid projecting beyond the clearance line C established by railroad operating conditions. By elongating the wheeled carriage so that the crank end with the bearing for the lower end of the shaft may be below the upper level of the housing, the track and housing may be raised relative to the inclined portion of the clearance line, and hence moved further outboard from the longitudinal center line of the car. This makes possible a widening of the car interior and an increase in the cubic capacity of the car.

Adjacent to the door supporting parts described above are door locking structures each comprising an upright shaft 28 journaled in brackets 29 on the door and having an eccentric pin 30 at its lower end disposed to enter a slot in a keeper 31 on the side of the car (FIG. 4) when the door is abreast of the opening. Rotation of one of the shafts 28 and its eccentric pin 30 by a hand lever 32 attached to the shaft earns the adjacent end of the door inboard or outboard of the track according to the direction of rotation of the shaft and its eccentric pin. This mechanism, in itself, is well known but the elongation of the housing between the wheels and the horizon tal disposition of the crank arm throughout its length with its ends terminating short of the end portions of the housing accommodates the swinging of the crank beneath the keeper on a carriage mounted at a higher level than if the crank arm were offset to swing over an end portion of the housing. It will be noted that keeper 31 is at a lower level than the top of the housing-receiving bearing 17 of the crank arm.

The details of the structure may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of those modifications coming within the scope of the claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. A door mounting structure for supporting a door for transverse movement with respect to a doorway opening defined in a side wall and for longitudinal movement along the side wall along a track supported adjacent the side wall and below the doorway opening, said door mounting structure comprising a horizontally elongated carriage having horizontally spaced end portions connected by a horizontally extending intermediate portion, a pair of horizontally spaced apart wheels each journaled in a respective one of said end portions for coaction with the track to support said carriage for longitudinal movement along the track, the top walls of said end portions being at a substantially higher level than the top wall of said intermediate portion, a horizontally disposed crank arm, and crank arm having a length less than the length of said carriage intermediate portion, means pivotally connecting one end of said crank arm to said carriage intermediate portion adjacent one of said end portions, and means for pivotally connecting the other end of said crank arm to the door for transverse movement of the door into and out of the doorway opening upon pivotal movement of said crank arm, said crank arm extending in substantially the same direction as said intermediate portion when the door is positioned in the doorway opening with said means for pivotally connecting the other end of said crank arm to the door disposed above said intermediate portion and inwardly of the other of said end portions, said crank arm being rotatable through about 90 from the closed position of the door and extending substantially transversely to said carriage intermediate portion when said door is opened, a substantial portion of the height of said crank arm being positioned vertically below said end portion top walls for reducing the distance the track is positioned below the doorway opening, said means for pivotally connecting the other end of the crank arm to the door including means for adjusting the vertical position of the door with respect to said crank arm.

2. A door structure for a railway car or the like having a side wall defining a doorway opening and a track supported adjacent the side wall and below the doorway opening, a door having a generally rectangular face and means for supporting said door for transverse movement into and out of the doorway opening and for longitudinal movement along the side wall upon the track, said last named means comprising a pair of spaced shafts supported at opposite sides of said door for pivotal movement with respect to said door, a pair of horizontally elongated can riages each having horizontally spaced end portions connected by a horizontally extending intermediate portion, a pair of horizontally spaced apart wheels journaled in a respective one of said end portions of each of said carriages for coaction with the track to support the respective carriage for longitudinal movement along the track, the top walls of said end portions being disposed at a substantially higher level than the top wall of said intermediate portion, a pair of horizontally disposed crank arms, means pivotally connecting one end of each of said crank arms to a respective one of said carriages adjacent one of said end portions and in said intermediate portion, means for affixing the other end of each of said crank arms to a respective one of said shafts for pivotal movement of said crank arms upon pivotal movement of the respective shafts, a substantial portion of the height of each of said crank arms being positioned vertically below the respective end portion top walls, a keeper afiixed to the car side wall and disposed between the end portions of one of said carriages when said door is in its closed position and above the respective crank arm, and a locking member carried by said door for coaction with said keeper for retaining said door in its closed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,150,271 3/1939 Dwyer 20-23 1,221,971 4/1917 Copony 49-21s 2,119,574 6/1938 Dwyer 49 219 3,269,059 8/1966 Bailey 49 219 KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DOOR MOUNTING STRUCTURE FOR SUPPORTING A DOOR FOR TRANSVERSE MOVEMENT WITH RESPECT TO A DOORWAY OPENING DEFINED IN A SIDE WALL AND FOR LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT ALONG THE SIDE WALL ALONG A TRACK SUPPORTED ADJACENT THE SIDE WALL AND BELOW THE DOORWAY OPENING, SAID DOOR MOUNTING STRUCTURE COMPRISING A HORIZONTALLY ELONGATED CARRIAGE HAVING HORIZONTALLY SPACED END PORTIONS CONNECTED BY A HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING INTERMEDIATE PORTION, A PAIR OF HORIZONTALLY SPACED APART WHEELS EACH JOURNALED IN A RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID END PORTIONS FOR COACTION WITH THE TRACK TO SUPPORT SAID CARRIAGE FOR LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT ALONG THE TRACK, THE TOP WALLS OF SAID END PORTIONS BEING AT A SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER LEVEL THAN THE TOP WALL OF SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION, A HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED CRANK ARM, AND CRANK ARM HAVING A LENGTH LESS THAN THE LENGTH OF SAID CARRIAGE INTERMEDIATE PORTION, MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTING ONE END OF SAID CRANK ARM TO SAID CARRIAGE INTERMEDIATE PORTION ADJACENT ONE OF SAID END PORTIONS, AND MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY CONNECTING THE OTHER END OF SAID CRANK ARM TO THE DOOR FOR TRANSVERSE MOVEMENT OF THE DOOR INTO AND OUT OF THE DOORWAY OPENING UPON PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID CRANK ARM, SAID CRANK ARM EXTENDING IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME DIRECTION AS SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION WHEN THE DOOR IS POSITIONED IN THE DOORWAY OPENING WITH SAID MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY CONNECTING THE OTHER END OF SAID CRANK ARM TO THE DOOR DISPOSED ABOVE SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION AND INWARDLY OF THE OTHER OF SAID END PORTIONS, SAID CRANK ARM BEING ROTATABLE THROUGH ABOUT 90* FROM THE CLOSED POSITION OF THE DOOR AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY TRANSVERSELY TO SAID CARRIAGE INTERMEDIATE PORTION WHEN SAID DOOR IS OPENED, A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE HEIGHT OF SAID CRANK ARM BEING POSITIONED VERTICALLY BELOW SAID END PORTION TOP WALLS FOR REDUCING THE DISTANCE THE TRACK IS POSITIONED BELOW THE DOORWAY OPENING, SAID MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY CONNECTING THE OTHER END OF THE CRANK ARM TO THE DOOR INCLUDING MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE VERTICAL POSITION OF THE DOOR WITH RESPECT TO SAID CRANK ARM. 